Described herein are a temperature compensation of a measuring probe to be received in a workpiece-processing machine, and a temperature-compensated measuring probe.
The workpiece-processing machine may be a (numerically controlled) machine tool, a (multiaxial) machining centre, a multiaxial milling machine or such like. In the following, the term ‘machine tool’ will also be used for all these machines or machines of such a type. Such a machine has a spindle on which a tool or a workpiece has been mounted; the spindle may be permanently positioned or, for example, may be moved and driven in three orthogonal directions X, Y and Z within a working space of the machine.
The tool can be moved by the machine tool into a measuring space—a region established for the purpose of measurement—of a probe operating in contacting or non-contacting manner. The probe operating in non-contacting manner detects the proximity of a surface with, for example, a capacitive, inductive or optical device. The probe operating in contacting manner detects a surface upon contact. For each detected feature, contacting and non-contacting probes relay corresponding measured data to a numerical (machine) control system which may include a computer program. Together with machine-position information from the control system, the measured data of the probe make it possible that the (numerical) control system can ascertain a precise picture of the dimensions of the tool or workpiece.